#8) Changer Book: COSMOS


Hello and welcome to "Always Be Better" with Mel Windham.

Today, I'd like to share another book that has changed my life: Carl Sagan's COSMOS.

A decade before the book came out, my father had instilled in me a love of the stars and planets. He would show me the heavens through his telescope, and we'd watch rocket launches on TV.

So, I was ready when we learned astronomy in the sixth grade. That year, our teacher, Barry, told us about this new show coming on PBS called COSMOS by Carl Sagan. I had never heard of the guy, but I obeyed and watched the show "live" -- all thirteen episodes, which came out one episode a week. 

Near the end of the first episode Carl showed us a gigantic calendar representing the whole life of the universe, and he walked over to a little square at the end of December 31, and said: "This tiny square, just a few minutes on the last day of the year, is our whole human history." And it floored my little sixth grade brain.

The rest of the series went on to talk about the planets, scientific discoveries, relativity, the fourth dimension, black holes, how we're made out of star stuffs, and so on. Accompanied by the music of Vangelis, it all helped me to feel so small and yet so significant at the same time. It opened my mind to so many wonders and mysteries that surround us. It gave me hope and helped contribute to my endless optimism.

The show also had all this boring philosophy stuff, but as I grew older, I came to love that as well, which helped me to come to an understanding of so many different ways of thinking. While most scientists seem to stick with the how and what, Carl dared to venture out to the non-scientific -- the philosophical and sense of wonder. He humanized science and made it approachable for all of us.

I received the original edition hardbound copy of this book for Christmas so many years ago, but I've lost it. I remember it featuring stills from the TV show. This copy that I just bought is possibly more up-to-date, but not as cool. The foreward by Neil deGrasse Tyson. And I suspect that the writings of Carl Sagan are the same in this book as they are in the hardbound copy -- I'll let you know in a book review after I give this another read.

Also, to let you know, this isn't a transcript of the show, but it does cover a lot of the same material. For example, it's missing the Cosmic Calendar I described earlier -- for that you have to go to one of his other books -- The Dragons of Eden, I believe.

Now, in my own video series, I'm sure to incorporate bits and pieces from this book here and there. In fact last week I hit you with Carl's version of the Drake Equation. Make sure to catch that video if you haven't already seen it. And look here on page 320 ... does this look familiar?


So, this book isn't required reading, but if you feel so inclined, go ahead and order a copy. Or go to Youtube and search for "Sagan Cosmos" and watch whatever clips meet your fancy -- all for free. I just so happened upon a playlist featuring all 13 episodes, which I'll include in the video description. Either way, for the next week I'd like you to look around and consider all the wonders surrounding you, and see if it brings you any hope.

That's all I have for today, and thanks for watching. Remember, we can "Always Be Better."

Bonus video: Carl Sagan's Cosmic Calendar

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